Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Ham & Cheese Croissant

Here's my new recipe for vegan croissants, using Earth Balance margarine instead of butter. I also used half whole wheat flour to add a touch of nutrition to what otherwise is merely a handy margarine-to-mouth conveyance system. I sliced them in half and filled them with vegan ham deli slices and a slice of Tofutti vegan cheddar, for classic ham-and-cheese croissants. More blanched green beans are in the lunch box today, along with some beautiful fresh organic strawberries. Shmoo picked out the fabric for this Egyptian hieroglyphic cloth napkin; he's fascinated with mummies and all things Egyptian lately.Verdict: There is nothing like the smell of hot, baking croissants wafting through the kitchen, and the taste of one fresh from the oven. Go make some! 5 stars.

70 comments:

I love your blog too! I just found it the other day and I am highly entertained. I'm not a vegan, I don't even really like veggies but reading this makes me wish I wasn't a consumer of everthing animal! I wish I could be a vegan! I think I could convert if you were to prepare my lunches as well!

I enjoy giving a little extras in my lunch such as you with your Egyptian hieroglyphic cloth napkin. Such a a special and unique treat will ensure a happy school kid. But as my family said 20+ years ago, where's the beef?

I remember YEARS ago, I was watching this segment on The Today Show and these bakers were making all kinds of breads and whatnot. I saw them making croissants and they were wrapping this dough around a sheet of butter that must have been about two feet by four feet and about four inches thick!! My mouth FLEW open at how much fat must be in each one! I rarely ate them after that. These look darn good and I am willing to bet they aren't a heart attack waiting to happen! I am definately gonna try them but I doubt they will be as pretty as the ones in the pic! Coroissant bowties anyone?

Wow Vegan Croissants,You're the best. And a new Recipe!!! I wanted to ask you if you have seen the new Reynolds Kitchen Fun Shapes Baking Cups. I bought some the other day and made some of the Corn Bread you mention some time ago and they turned out real cute, Best of all I am recycling them. So they wash out real easy if you are gentle. Great way to add a heart to your kids lunch.

Boys in my third grade classroom always seems to be in an Egyptian/Mummy phase. I think it is the mind of an eight year old to like all things mummy...oh, and the Titanic. Sense a death/disaster theme? LOL

I can't believe you made vegan croissants! Today on my way to work I was thinking, why doesn't anyone make vegan croissants and now I have a recipe. Perfect timing! I love your site and check it everyday. Then I go home and tell my husband what little Shmoo had for lunch! You have inspired me to include more veggie sides in my lunch. Thanks Jennifer!

Grace-As vegans, we hear this *all* the time. What is it about being vegan that you "can't" do? You can! It involves no willpower (as you can see from this blog, vegan food is delicious). Many non-veggies don't realize that if they are eating healthily, they are already incorporating many "vegan" foods, and there are more vegan foods than not! Vegetables are fantastic. I find many people who don't like them tend to overcook them. Yuck, no one wants mush. I would suggest getting a cookbook, looking up vegan nutrition, and at least trying it. If you say you can't before you try, then you are setting yourself up for failure. Veganism is very rewarding and I hope you try it. Please contact myself or jennifershmoo (does she have a contact?) and I am sure either one of us can give you some helpful info. Also, see Jennifershmoo's "why vegan" portion of the blog. Once you really understand the cruelties of the industry, and see animal products for what they really are, it is very easy to avoid them.

Wendy Thomas- this is a vegan site. Vegans do not eat animal body parts or anything that is secreted out of animal glands. Therefore, the answer to "where's the beef?" is...it's rotting in your colon (as the sassy veg advertisement says ;) )

Lunch looks GREAT, as usual! I was wondering if you happen to have Linda Haynes' The Vegetarian Lunchbasket? It's not exclusively vegan, but I think you could easily veganize just about everything in it. I've had that book for several years and just made some "golden tofu nuggets" the past couple of days to put in my daughter's lunch- they are actually quite tasty at room temperature or cold. They are fried (yikes!), but it's hard to feel too bad about tofu with nutitional yeast breading!

I haven't had a croissant in 15 years! They are a smidge labor intensive but I bet they are worth it! Thanks for the recipe! Let us know if you try freezing them (before or after baking) then I could have them fresh more often... Or I could eat them all in a weekend, or I guess I could share....

Hey Cool! I made vegan croissants a while back... I just used the Joy of Cooking recipe and used Earth Balance instead of butter. I did find that I had to put the dough in the freezer from time to time... since the EB can be so much softer than traditional butter. They came out delicious and amazing!!! But, I must say, seeing all that margarine in there really did hamper my ability to enjoy them so open-heartedly. I am always hoping someone else will make them... so I can remain "ignorant" and enjoy them! :) Way to go!

What a personal question Teresa! I can't speak for Jennifershmoo, but I think that buying those kind of foods is a matter of personal choice/sacrifice really---I'm not "well off" but I budget for healthy food/organic food because I like it/is better for us. We cut back in other areas so we can enjoy good/healthy food!

I think that Wendy Thomas is the troll of the day. Good grief. Dave Thomas is the founder of Wendy's fast food restaurants. How easy to deduce could that be?

VEGAN croissants? You soooo rock. I am so grateful you're here. I have been missing croissants for ages. I cant' wait to try this.

As for the mummies...have you looked up a book called -Smelly History-? There are several devoted to various historical periods, and one of them is Smelly Mummies...my son adored that book. AND it helped him out on a history report. Just don't get your nose too close to it...it's a scratch and sniff book and it goes into hygiene of the period and everything. :D

I am just so enjoying your blog and I wish I had your great ideas and energy to make them happen. You are inspiring me. My boys are excited just for me to order the lunch box system! It will be fun to fill them with all your great idea. Thank you!

Strawberries look lovely. I'll bet that there will be some at our Farmers' Market this weekend. Yum. And our Coop had gorgeous artichokes when I popped in this morning. I love the first artichokes of the season. Probably not practical for Shmoo and school.

Pain au Chocolat is one of few foods around here that I would love to try but can't. I've been meaning to work up the motivation to make my own for a while now. These look fantastic. Thanks for the croissant recipe!

Here's what I do sometimes: buy squares of puff pastry (here they have nonhydrogenated frozen puff pastry at the grocery store.. it's almost always vegan, though, even in the states. the squares are 6"x6" or so), defrost a bit, put some veggie ham and vegan cheese on one side, fold over, pinch closed, and bake at 400-ish for 20 minutes-ish. It's a simple veganization of a Dutch 'broodje ham en kaas,' or filled sandwich. You can also fill them with seasoned tofu or seitan.. you even see these at fast food places and health food stores.

"I think that buying those kind of foods is a matter of personal choice/sacrifice really---I'm not "well off" but I budget for healthy food/organic food because I like it/is better for us. We cut back in other areas so we can enjoy good/healthy food!"

Well said. I also find that when I spend a bit more money at the grocery/health food store for high quality fresh foods we eat out less.

So it natually balances out. More money on groceries and less money on eating out (and junk foods) tends to equal the same amount as spending less money on groceries and more money on eating out.

Love the napkin! maybe lil shmoo wont throw them away now that he gets to choose the decoration?? have you ever tried attaching it to something like silverware or the box itself? heh, perhaps that's a little extreme...but maybe it could work? napkin on a string? ;oD

I think the price of things is more then the immediate price. That is to say, when someone buys something cheap at Walmart's, they are usually supporting Chinese and other industries which often abuse their workers and cause terrible pollution - rivers of toxins and terrible air. Not to mention how Walmart's itself treats its workers. What does that do to Shmoo and his kids? The whole planet is on the verge of a devastating change with sea level 25 feet higher, constant bad storms, declining food suppies, etc., because this generation says that costs too much and doesn't look at the real costs. Once you do the latter, buying right becomes a no-brainer.

Plus, as has been pointed out before, if you go to farmer's markets, etc. you can pay less and support local agriculture which you will surely need once gas starts to run out and becomes $50 a gallon. Not to mention compare the price of a pound of rice vs a pound of meat.

I have been checking your site daily for about a month now. I've always been intrigued with those who are vegan or vegetarian. I grew up HATING most vegetables except for peas, beans and carrots. Now, at 28, I LOVE them! Can't believe it took me so long. I have a 5yr old son who is just like I was. Loves carbs and dairy. However, due to a dairy sensitivity we do soy milk and alternatives for the most part. Thankfully my two other daughters love most of their veggies (except broccoli LOL!).

Anyway, I am enjoying your blog so much and it has really inspired me to provide more healthy options in my kids foods. THANK YOU so much!!

I do have a question though. My 2nd daughter does not like nuts, therefore she won't eat peanut butter. Can you suggest some other ways to get high protein healthy snacks into her diet? She is very thin, but eats very healthy for the most part.

I don't give my 2-year old vegan twins peanut butter, they eat cashew or almond butter instead. Very nutritious, in fact, more nutritous than peanut butter and full of protein. If you're looking for other healthy fats, try avocados and flaxseed oil mixed into salad, soup (right before serving), veggies, smoothies etc.

My 17 month old isn't a big fan of nuts either. However we give her beans, tofu and avocados a lot. If you check my blog, by clicking on my name, you'll see a lot of recipes we eat and my daughter's reaction to them.

Once every six weeks, I get up at 4:45 AM so that I can get to my 6 AM hair appointment. As a reward for this kind of discipline (read: insanity), I would stop at the French bakery that is conveniently located on my route from the hair salon to my workplace and treat myself to a large croissant or pain chocolat and juice. Since becoming vegan, I have of course abandoned that croissant habit (but not the insane hair appointment time). This morning was one of my hair appointment days, and I was sorely missing my croissant when I dragged myself in to work. Lo and behold, I come to Vegan Lunchbox and find that you have posted not only a vegan croissant recipe, but one that includes whole wheat! You, madame, are my hero! I will be making these this weekend for sure!

Jennifer, you've really outdone yourself this time!!! Fannie is an amazing resource, and you're so smart to use her for croissants! Those are gorgeous and I am famished right now . . . if only you took internet orders and they could be delivered in 5 minutes across the nation. *sigh* I'm assuming that you used whole wheat pastry flour, right? And did you add any gluten flour to get them to rise higher, or are they that stately on their own?

When my mom and dad were 20, in college and married with a baby, my grandmother gave my mom some wonderful advice. She said, "You'll need to skimp and save but NEVER skimp on food. If you are eating well, you are living well no matter how poor you really are." My parents are now in there 60's and will probably outlive me they are so healthy.

I love to buy at farmer's markets, and buy healthy produce, but in some places it's not always possible, especially on a very tight student budget. I eat very little meat because of the price, and live mostly off veggies, pasta, and rice. Here in a very small Northern Ontario city there is no farmer's market, and only one bulk food store that sells mostly spices and wine-making products. There is one great health food store, but because of the low market-base the prices are astronomical. However, in spring and summer when local and Canadian products come in to season I gorge!

Oh and also ordering on the internet can be hard because it's very expensive to ship across the border, and you're often hit with a customs cost once it gets to the door. Once I get back to a bigger city though I'm going back to my greater-veggie ways!